Doug George-Kanentiio: A new Aboriginal economy, based on an old agreement

The former Canadian border post in the middle of Akwesasne Mohawk reserve, photographed Wednesday, July 28, 2010 on the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve near Cornwall, Ontario. The border was moved outside the territory to the foot of the bridge into Cornwall, Ont., after protests over the arming of Canada Border Services Agency officers. Police say the shift has disrupted smugglers who operate on land, and used to simply drive around the border station, then across the bridge and into Cornwall. Aaron Lynett / (Aaron Lynett / National Post)

The Jay Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation was negotiated by the United States and Britain to resolve some of the outstanding issues left over from the American Revolution. Of particular importance was the status of Aboriginal nations and their existing rights to take their goods across the international border (however vague) without having to pay revenues or taxes.

That treaty was an acknowledgement that Native peoples were already conducting trade between their nations and that this activity was a key element in the economic lives of Aboriginal people while also serving as a means to exchange information, establish diplomatic relations and enable families to maintain contact without qualification from the agreement’s signatories.

As one example, the Mohawk Nation, although forcibly dispossessed from part of its territory by the Americans, had large vibrant communities along the St. Lawrence River-Lake Ontario corridor. These communities remained involved in the affairs of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and created an alliance called the Seven Nations of Canada with trade a key component. The Mohawks knew that if peace were to prevail, nations must have the right to trade and prosper. Without this, the nations would experience stress and poverty which would lead to conflict and violence.

The 1794 Canandaigua Treaty was to work in concert with the Jay Treaty. Both were meant to convince the Natives that their economic rights to self regulation, the express right to cross any border free of taxation and the right to do so without paying any road or bridge tolls were now the supreme law of the land.

Yet both agreements were casually violated by individual states, land speculation companies and the governments in Britain and the U.S.

When the Dominion of Canada was created in 1867 it was required to abide by all previous treaties entered into by Britain from the 1763 Royal Proclamation to Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. The Canadian Parliament did not have the discretion to arbitrarily ignore international law and could not pretend it was not bound by the Jay Treaty.

Yet it did and continues to do so. Canada has refused to acknowledge that Native nations have the right to cross the border unimpeded. It rejects the concept that Native nations can carry on legitimate commerce without paying import duties. While it abides by the North American Free Trade Act it will not agree to do the same with Aboriginal people.

In fact, Canada takes a vigorous, perverse delight in harassing individual Natives and confiscating their goods. Its agents are primed to use excessive force to apply Canadian import laws. The federal government conveniently argues that since it never specifically passed the Jay Treaty it does not have to abide by its terms even as the U.S. does so.

For the Iroquois, and especially for the Mohawks, this has brought great harm. The traditional economy was destroyed, Mohawks workers jailed, Mohawk families subjected to unwarranted interrogation and their goods taken.

It has also led to a massive criminal presence on Mohawk lands as illicit products are smuggled across the border. At times, this includes taking refugees seeking entry into the U.S. with lethal results as people are drowned in the St. Lawrence.

Canada must be held accountable for this mess. It can easily be rectified if the new federal government will agree to form a joint task force to examine the border issue. It can do so by: including Native nations in examining law enforcement problems and empowering the nations to regulate commerce on their respective lands; assisting the Native nations in recreating an Aboriginal trade compact built upon ancestral routes; endorsing the Jay Treaty; and entering into a formal, Canada wide trade compact designed to stimulate a new native economy rooted in Native traditional law.

There is only one rational way to break the bonds of Native poverty and dependence: that is to reestablish Aboriginal economies without the suffocating dictates of the Indian Act of Canada and to liberate Aboriginal peoples to control and develop their renewable resources (intellectual and physical) as they deem appropriate.

Doug George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk, is the former editor of the journal Akwesasne Notes and a co-founder of the Native American Journalists Association. He may be reached via e-mail: Kanenttio@aol.co.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.